Peachland Rotary

The Fur Brigade Trail

Courtesy of Kristen Friesen, the Peachland Phoenix

The Peachland Rotary Club recently awarded a small local improvement grant to the Okanagan’s Society Fur Brigade Trail. The trail spans between Hardy Falls and Garnet Lake and leads to an incredibly beautiful viewpoint about half-way to Garnet Valley near Summerland.
On June 5th, Doris Muhs, along with several helpers, went on the trail to put up the signs. The Peachland Phoenix reported on this event in their local news. The photo displayed here is courtesy Kristen Friesen, Peachland Phoenix. Click here to view the article.

Volcanes Library Serves as a Make-Shift Food Bank

What started as an educational project has become a lifeline for many poor people in one of the poorest districts of Puerto Vallarta. “Our” library at Volcanes serves as a make-shift food bank with the students organizing the distribution of goods to people in Volcanes. Here are some posts shared with our Club:April 10 – Today we did our second food distribution: 77 families received a well-stocked, two-week supply of food. As of today, we have helped 127 families in Volcanes and the surrounding colonias. In the following weeks we will help more.April 23 –Today we passed out 186 care packages to families from Volcanes, Laguna del Valle, Salitrillo, Magisterio and Copa del Rey (dump area). These packages included dog food and cat food for people with pets thanks to a donation from Sandee’s Project. We also passed out masks to every person who did not have one thanks to our Volcanes Sewing School who has been donating them around town.
In 4 weeks we have passed out exactly 400 total care packages. A big thank you to all the students and parents who helped us to keep things organized. Thanks to everyone who is donating to our food bank. Your donations are making a big difference for the most needy of Puerto Vallarta.

Volcanes Food Bank

Line Ups to Receive Food

Students Handing Out Food

Hard at Work

Cancellation of Club Meetings and Other Club Events

Please note that due to the COVID-19 situation, all club meetings have been suspended until further notice. Regrettably, we had to cancel our much anticipated “Sip&Savour” Wine Festival as well as the Rotary Club Social planned for March 26, and the Seniors’ Bus Trip scheduled for May 20th. All other events are currently on hold. Please check this place for updates.
Stay healthy, frequently wash your hands, and avoid physical contact with other persons. This does not mean that we cannot reach out to other people by different means such as social media or just phoning a person we know lives alone.
This situation will pass. Let not fear dominate our life!

“Sam” Hosam Ibrahim

On March 3, our long-standing member Sam Ibrahim passed away. Sam was born in Egypt and came via studies in Germany to Canada. His expertise in herbal medicine was well recognized in Western Canada. He was a valued member of our club, often helping out at our food stand grilling German Bratwurst. He had a heart of gold and could always be counted on when it came to the support of the less fortunate members of our society. We will miss him!

Cancellation of our “Sip&Savour” Wine Festival

Due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we decided to cancel our Sip&Savour Wine Festival scheduled for April 18, 2020. We had all looked forward to this event and planning was well underway. However, safety comes first and while health departments across the world are still trying to understand the extent of the threat it is better to err on caution. We hope that we can welcome many of our supporters at the Murder Mystery Dinner planned for late Fall.

Viewpoints Speaker Series

February 20th was the first ever in this series. Dennis Craig, Peachlands’ Fire Chief gave a most interesting presentation which covered the ever increasing risk of fire in the forests which surround virtually every town in BC. He explained the ways in which we might mitigate fire risk to our homes by avoiding plantings of fire fuel plants such as juniper and dry exotic grasses close to our buildings. He also explained the differences between the devastating California and Australian fires. He showed graphs which demonstrated all too clearly the extent and number of fires in the region and BC generally. Did you know that the majority of forest fires are caused by humans, not lightning strikes? And there is a frightening statistic which shows that many of the fires caused by man are deliberately set.Forest fires create their own micro weather, inducing winds to fan the flames and spread the embers as much as four kilometres ahead of the fire front, behind the fire fighters.In question time he talked about the equipment used and the way in which municipal rules can create real hazards for subdivisions both in the rules which govern development and our building codes which permit the use of building materials which are, in themselves fire fuel. I
nformative and incredibly interesting. A fantastic start to what promises to be a great series of presentations. Dennis has set the bar very high for future presentations!Thank you Dennis! Our next date is April 28th in the Banquet Room at the Community Centre beginning promptly at 7:00pm and ending at 9:00pm. The Codfathers’ Jonathon Croft will talk about “Sustainable Fisheries”. What is happening in our oceans and rivers? Drop in for a couple of hours, ask questions, get informed. This series of speakers provides a different view of our world. Admission is free. Date to be determined for our next speaker.

Viewpoints Speaker Series

Viewpoints is a new venture for the Rotary Club of Peachland this year. The first Viewpoints talk will be at 7 o’clock in the evening of February 20th in the small banquet room at the Peachland Community Centre, 4450 6 St, Peachland. (view map here). There is no admission charge and everyone is welcome.
Dennis Craig, Peachland Fire Chief, will be our first speaker. He will talk about the “firesmart” program, in which there’ll be a question and answer session included regarding keeping our homes safe. He will also discuss the fires in California and Australia.
The second in the first series of 3 will be held on April 28 and will feature speaker Jonathon Croft. He will talk about sustainable fish stocks in the Okanagan.

ShelterBox Canada Bronze Hero Award

Our Peachland Rotary Club has been recognized as a ShelterBox Canada Bronze Hero for the 2018/2019 Rotary year. In appreciation, each ShelterBox Canada Hero will receive a Hero certificate at their District Conference. The Rotary Dsitrict 5060 Conference takes place this April in Kelowna.
Natural disasters and conflict are inevitable and frequent, and the need is continuous. A ShelterBox Canada Hero is a Rotary Club that has identified the continuing need to prepare for disasters and respond at a moment’s notice. Clubs are recognized based on their total annual giving throughout the year. Donations from our Peace Concerts during the summer months fund our ShelterBox donations. To find out more information about this recognition and what ShelterBox is all about, click here.

January 1st Polar Bear Swim

The 2020 Peachland Polar Bear swim was held at 1 o’clock, January 1st, under sunny skies, no wind, no snow (other than on the hills across the lake) and a temperature of between 8-9 degrees C– hard to believe,
See more about the event here. Photo taken by Barb Aguiar and courtesy of The Daily Courier,

December 6 Light-Up

On December 6th, the our Club participated in Peachland’s Christmas Light-Up ceremony. Our members offered hot chocolate to the public. Donations to Rotary’s Polio program were collected and they will buy enough vaccine to immunize approximately 400 children against polio. Click here to view more photos.

Roll-a-Hippo Foundation Update

The first shipment of 50 hippo rollers arrive at Taweni and Ngcwanguba. The Obonto Foundation operates a network of 8 Early Childhood Development schools in the Transkei region of South Africa. Each school received 4 hippo rollers that are used to grow produce and teach sustainable farming. Several Rotary Clubs in South Africa were eager to incorporate the hippo rollers provided by District 5060 to their local projects:
• Rotary Flamingo Welkom
• Rotary Klerksdorp
• Rotary Aliwal North
• Rotary Bloemfontein
• eRotary Club of South Africa One (Durban)
• Rotary Maloti-Maseru, Lesotho
Read more about this amazing project here.

Tour of JoeAnna’s House

Club members enjoyed a tour of JoeAnna’s House on Thursday October 31st morning. Our donations to this project, as part of Rotary’s commitment of $250,000, were very much
appreciated.

Charter Night – October 26

Members gathered at the 50+ Activity Centre to celebrate our Club’s Charter and enjoyed a meal presented by the Peachland Ladies Auxilary. In attendance was DG Peter Schultz and his wife Susan, as well as Assistant DG Bill Hawkins. The evening included presentations of Paul Harris Fellowship Awards to both Al Springer, Sportsment Club, and Eldon Kerbes, Lions Club, for their tireless work on the new Peachland Pier. View more about this evening including a photo gallery here.

World Polio Day – October 24th

Today our members climbed out of bed very early to stand at the roadside in Peachland during the morning rush hour commute with their “End Polio” signs to bring awareness of World Polio Day. Here is some history of Rotary’s involvement to eradicate polio worldwide.
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who unite and take action to create lasting change in communities across the globe. The Rotary motto, Service Above Self, inspires members to provide humanitarian service, follow high ethical standards, and promote goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary in 1985 launched PolioPlus and in 1988 helped establish the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which today includes the World Health Organization, U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to immunize the children of the world against polio. Polio cases have dropped by 99.9 percent since 1988 and the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease. To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$1.9 billion and countless volunteer hours to protecting more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. Rotary is working to raise an additional $50 million per year, which would be leveraged for maximum impact by an additional $100 million annually from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These efforts are providing much-needed operational support, medical staff, laboratory equipment, and educational materials for health workers and parents. In addition, Rotary has played a major role in decisions by donor governments to contribute more than $8 billion to the effort.

Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre a Great Success

Our two evening on September 27 & 28th were a great success thanks to the 200+ attendees who enjoyed the hilarious actors’ antics. See more information and a photo gallery from the two evenings here.
Our very talented cast for the two evenings. L-R: Yvonne Moritz, Dave Collins. Nick Lloyd, Madeleine Nixon, Debra Kelly, Rod MacIntosh, Moyra Baxter, Tanya Northcott and Rick Tench.

Cops for Kids!

President Peggy presented a cheque to our very own Peachland pharmacist Thomas “Garnet’ Lloyd who took part in the Cops for Kids bike ride.
Their route covers a vast and mountainous corner of the province with unrelenting hills and inclement weather at times, but these riders know that on the other side of each mountain is a family who has benefited from their fundraising efforts,
The riders join the RCMP to help people and make a difference in their communities. This year’s ride will take the team over 1,000 km through Southeast B.C., stopping in 26 communities over 10 days.

Amparo Has Arrived!

Inbound and outbound Rotary Exchange students at Kelowna Airport, August 20th, 2019. Amparo, from Valencia, Spain, meets Sofia, heading for Brittany, France.
Amparo had a warm greeting from members of Peachland Rotary, the West Kelowna Ambassadors and our outbound student Sofia’s family. She will spend almost a year at Mount Boucherie High School and stay with host parents in West Kelowna and Peachland. A big thanks to our Youth Exchange Chair Jane for organizing the welcome party. Enjoy the photos shared by the West Kelowna Ambassadors as everyone gets ready to welcome Amparo. We have started a separate page for Amparo. Visit here.

Installation of 2019-2020 Board Members

We were pleased to have Past District Governor Doug Everett lead the installation of our new Board members at our evening dinner meeting of July 18th. Only one member of our Board was absent for the installation – Margaret. View more photos from the evening here.

2019 Peace Concerts Series

Our free Peace Concerts Series have been very popular each year that we host them and we expect our 2019 line-up to be just as popular. The concerts begin at 6:00 pm with food service at 5:00 pm. For more information for the remaining 2 concerts on July 14th and 21st, click here. Here is a photo from our recent “Cod Gone Wild” concert with our audience enjoying it as well as our Rotarians manning the BBQ!

And the Winner Is….

Janice Liebe – the lucky winner of the draw for the diamond ring. It was our first Sparkling Evening at Fitz and what a perfect evening! The weather co-operated beautifully, and our guests were delighted with the bubbly, wines, delicious food and wonderful ambiance including the music from the classical guitarist. We received overwhelming compliments on the whole evening!
Thanks to our Rotarians Ted & Margaret, Peter & Midge for helping with the planning and Madeleine as our MC. Thanks especially to Chris Scowen as our greeter offering a terrific, classy welcome to all our guests adorned in his top hat, tails and gloves.

2019 Seniors’ Bus Trip

Here is a photo (click on it to see an even larger view) of the group of seniors and Rotarians who enjoyed our 2019 Seniors Bus Trip on Wednesday May 22. To see LOTS more photos and a description of the route, click here.

Opening of New Pier

On May 11th it was a fabulous day for the grand opening of the new “Ray Kandola Heritage Pier” in Peachland. View more photos and the history of this pier here.

The photo opposite shows our Rotary members Wolfgang, Dan, Ray, Chris, Peggy and Chris, proudly standing under the new entrance to the pier. Well done to all involved.

We Welcomed Two New Members

Our May 9th meeting was a great one. Chris Scowen was the greeter and welcomed all to the meeting. Today featured the induction of two members to our club: Mario Avendano Morales and Elsie Lemke (our first corporate member). Also, member John Abernethy was presented with a very special award from the recent District 5060 conference. See all the photos here.

International Rotary Youth Exchange Students Visit

International Rotary Youth Exchange students enjoy a dinner and a night in Peachland during their tour of our Rotary District 5060. Also, Antonia Bentele from Germany and Reka Csefai from Slovakia , hosted by our President Peggy, enjoyed a walk on the new completed pier during their tour of Peachland.

Green Shirt Day

On Saturday April 6th Chris B., Ted, Rod, Linda, Peggy, Anne and other Rotary members were on hand at the Peachland IGA for “Green Shirt Day” bringing awareness of the organ donor program to shoppers who passed by. Many were interested to find out where they could register. To find out more information on being an organ donor, visit their webpage and hopefully register.

Food Bank Donation

On Thursday, April 5th, President Ray presented a cheque for $1,000 to Judy Bedford of the Peachland Food Bank. Thanks to all the club members for their dedication to the raising of funds for this very worthwhile cause in our community.

Peachland Pier

Here is a video from a drone of the completed pier courtesy of Mark Weinstein. A big thank you for sharing this with us. Click on the arrow to start the video and if you want to see it full screen, click on the box in the lower right corner to enlarge. To view more photos, as well as the latest Peachland View article of February 5th, go to the “Peachland Pier” tab on this website.

Big Welcome To Our New Member

Membership Chair, Madeleine inducted our newest member Steven to our club at our annual general meeting on January 17th. Here Wolfgang, as his sponsor, pins Steven with his Rotary pin. All the members in attendance shook his hand to welcome him to our club. We also know his previous experience with Rotary will help in our club’s many fundraising endeavours.

January 1st 2019 Polar Bear Swim

Our first club event of the 2019 year was to provide hot chocolate at the annual Polar Bear Swim in sunny, but cold, Peachland. Read more about this event and see lots of photos here. The photos below show fellow Rotarian and MP Dan Albas just prior to his plunge into the frigid waters! Also Rotarian Shayn Moritz with Dan after their swim. Click on image to enlarge to full size.

Christmas Light-Up at Heritage Park

On Friday, December 5th, Santa arrived at Heritage Park in style aboard Peachland’s newest fire truck, accompanied by legions of bundled-up elves and would-be elves all waving glow sticks. It was Light-Up in Peachland and the weather could not have been been better – about minus 2, no wind with a skating rink lake as a backdrop… Click here to view the remainder of this write-up.

Rotary Foundation Annual Report

Rotarians have and continue to contribute funds to the Rotary Foundation. Take a few minutes to view the 2018 Annual Report and learn how Rotarians:

Helped install a water filtration plant in Pakistan and organized immunization campaigns to reduce the number of polio cases

Volunteered more than 111 million hours, supporting projects like one that has brought light to remote U.S. homes

Worked together across borders to offer two-week camps in Poland for children affected by war and violence

Raised more than $414 million for The Rotary Foundation, which helps fund projects such as one that protects fishing waters in the Philippines

November is Rotary Foundation Month

It is this Foundation that enables Rotary clubs worldwide to fund projects around the world as well as in our backyard. For example: part of the funding for our Pier Project is derived from a grant from the Rotary Foundation. Rotary considers projects which support the community and matches some of the funds raised by local clubs to further their endeavours.
For the 10th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S. In the most recent ratings, the Foundation earned the maximum of 100 points for demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.
In a letter to the Rotary Foundation, Charity Navigator notes that “only 1 percent of the charities we evaluate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that The Rotary Foundation outperforms other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets The Rotary Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness – Jan. 2018.”
The rating reflects Charity Navigator’s assessment of how the Foundation uses donations, sustains its programs and services, and practices good governance and openness.

District Rotary Clubs Working Together

The Lake Country Rotary Club took the lead, along with 11 other District clubs working together to provide a much needed fork lift for the Lake Country Food Bank. On October 26, Rotarians gathered for the presentation (click on the image to the left for a list of the clubs that raised funds, along with a grant from the Rotary Foundation, for this project). Learn more information about this project here.

World Polio Day

It was a fun event for World Polio Day on Wednesday, October 24th. Our Club celebrated this very special event by participating in the “World’s Greatest Meal to Help End Polio” along with the West Kelowna Daybreak Club. Approximately $8000 was raised for the Rotary Foundation to Help End Polio. View many photos and learn more about this evening and our guest speaker Karen Naumann, a polio survivor, here.

JoeAnna’s House Groundbreaking Ceremony

Our President Peggy Southin and Wolfgang Muhs presented a cheque for $8,617 to the KGH Foundation. This amount was matched 1:1 by a private foundation bringing our contribution to this worthwhile project to $17,324. As of September 28, 2018 BC Clubs Supporting JoeAnna’s House have received gifts/commitments totaling over $40,000.
Our club’s donation will help with this very vital project. View photos and information about JoeAnna’s House groundbreaking ceremony here.

Charter Night Unsung Hero Awards

What an evening our fellow Rotarians and their guests experienced for the celebration of the Peachland Rotary Club’s 1997 Charter. The meals were delicious and the fellowship made for a fun evening.
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Unsung Hero Awards by Membership Chair Madeleine Nixon to fellow Rotarian, Chris Scowen and Chief Dennis Craig, who received the award on behalf of the Peachland Fire Department – Station 21. Congratulations!
Chris also gave a detailed history of the club’s charter and provided a program and other memorabilia from the first meeting (View them here). Read more about the many accomplishments of the award recipients and this evening in the Events section. Also view a photo gallery from the evening.

Thanks Raghwa!

Our Rotarians and guests were delighted to have Raghwa Gopal of Accelerate Okanagan as our guest speaker today (October 18th). Where he finds all the energy to be involved in his many ventures is simply amazing but he managed to find time to visit us today! Read more about his presentation in our Our Meetings tab.

Seniors Centre Cheque Presentation

Peachland Rotary members approved a project to provide appliances and a television for the Peachland Seniors Centre common room. Profits from the recent Murder Mystery event funded a portion of the $3000 donation for this project. Rotary President Ray Kandola, as well as members Chris Boyle (photographer), Peggy and Chris Southin, were on hand to present a cheque for $3000 to the Peachland Senior Support Society on Thursday, October 11, 2018.

Starfish Pack Backpack Program

The Starfish Pack Backpack Programwas created in response to teachers learning that some of their students’ families needed help to provide a few of their family meals. Teachers were heartbroken to hear their students were coming to class Monday morning hungry, reporting that they had not eaten over the weekend. Our club’s Starfish Pack Backpack program began with a relationship with Peachland Elementary School in the 2017 school year. Learn more about this worthwhile program here.

Chamber of Commerce BBQ

Volcanes Community Education Project

We are so proud of the team of teachers who do an incredible job of changing the lives of many children and giving a very poor community a future. They are truly an inspiration not only to these kids but to all of us. In the recent September newsletter, there is an article on the history of the scholarship program (click on thumbnail image to the left). The program started 8 years ago with 6 students. Now Rotarians from all over support 70 students, many of them attending University! Yes, we can be an inspiration and change the world, one student at the time!
To view past and present newsletters click here. To view more about this project in our website, click here.

Soon Peachland will Walk on Water!

A handful of representatives from the Lions Club, the Sportsmen’s Association and our club were present on Sept. 10th to mark the start of construction of the Peachland Heritage Pier. The pier represents the largest local project ever undertaken by the three service clubs. See more information and photos here.

Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre

What a fantastic event it was on Saturday, September 29th with 106 attendees enjoying themselves at our “Deadly Passage” Murder Mystery Dinner. See photos from the evening here.
Funds raised from this event will be used for the purchase of appliances and a TV in the common room of the Peachland new Seniors Centre residence.

Visit from our District Governor

At our September 6th meeting, we enjoyed a visit from District Governor Sherry Chamberlain and her husband Jim. As well, Assistant Governor Art Gillan for Area 6 attended the meeting. DG Sherry gave a very interesting and informative presentation about her Rotary experience. Here is a photo of DG Sherry with Chris Southin at the base of the Rotary Clock. View more photos, a video and information in “Our Meetings.”

Colonia Volcanes School Library

2018 and another year of dreaming big begins for “our kids” at Volcanes in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We are so proud of this program. For more information and photos, click here.

Peace Concerts a Success Despite the Smoke!

The 2018 Peace Concerts were a challenge! The July concerts went as planned featuring COD Gone Wild and Flint and Feather with sunny skies and warm temperatures. August proved to be the “smoky” month resulting in poor air quality due to smoke from the many fires around the province. As a result, the Kelowna Opera concert unfortunately was cancelled over 10+ poor air quality which would greatly affect the throats and lungs of the scheduled performers. The final concert, featuring Country Classics with Marty Edwards and Pam Ferens, with last minute planning, was re-scheduled to a week later and was moved to the Peachland Community Centre.
The fans were not disappointed! A wonderful concert with approximately 240 guests who were treated to an hour and forty minutes of great music. As guests left they were thanking us for a super evening and they said they will be back.
The audiences, as in previous years, were generous in their donations going to purchase Shelter Boxes to be used around the world wherever natural disasters make families homeless.
We look forward to season 2019 at the Rotary Pavilion in Peachland with plans for a fresh and thrilling complement of musical performance. Hopefully we will have smoke-free skies as well.

Roll a Hippo – A Smarter Way to Move Water –
Peachland Rotary has donated funds for 3 rollers and challenges all District 5060 Rotary Clubs do the same or even better!

“For many, clean water comes with the twist of a tap. But in rural Africa, access to water requires hours of walking, waiting in line and heavy lifting. On average, a woman spends six hours a day collecting and transporting water to supply her family’s daily needs. The time spent on this basic necessity keeps many children out of school and prevents women from engaging in more empowering activities and income-generating work.The hippo water roller is a major improvement on the toxic, re-purposed gasoline and paint containers that are typically used to collect water in rural communities. Traditional methods of transporting water include carrying heavy five gallon buckets of water on the head. These heavy loads place an enormous strain on the skeletal frame, causing long-term damage and premature ageing”. View videos and more information here.

“What`s Rotary?”“Rotary is a leadership organization…..We are made up of people like you. Many of us arelocal business, professional and civic leaders.We meet regularly, get to know each other,form friendships, and through that, we are able toget things done in this community and elsewhere in the World”

Go to the Peachland Pier tab to view updates
on our latest community projectThis is a joint project between the Sportsmen’s Association, the Peachland Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Peachland

Rotarians @ Work

“We Get Things Done”

President’s Message

I am honoured to be the President of the Rotary Club of Peachland once again. My first term as President was 2017-2018. After careful consideration, I offered to step forward once again to lead our vibrant club. Throughout our Rotary District Peachland’s club is known as the little club that gets things done. With that in mind I look forward to new accomplishments this Rotary year. Read the rest of President Peggy’s Message.

MeetingsAll Club Meetings are now conducted as Zoom video meetings until further notice

Board Meetings2nd Tuesday of Month – Vantage One Boardroom, 4:00PM

Join us at our weekly meetings at Noon on Thursdays at the Gasthaus on the Lake in Peachland. Guests are always welcome! – Please note that currently all in-person meetings have been cancelled. If you would like to attend one of our Zoom meetings, please drop us a line and we will send you an access code.